General facts about AppJobber
Started in December 2011 under the company wer denkt was GmbH with headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany this platform brings together contractors (private persons at least 18 years of age who carry out small tasks in their free time and get small amounts of money for it) and purchaser (companies who employ these micro jobs). AppJobber functions as crowdsourcing platform operator who finds people these location-based micro jobs.
According to this webpage AppJobber is active in these countries:
- Austria (Since 2012)
- Switzerland (Since 2012)
- Germany
- Denmark (Since 2013)
- Finland (Since 2013)
- France (Since 2013)
- Italy (Since 2013)
- Norway
- Portugal (Since 2013)
- United Kingdom
The following applications are described as examples for purchasers:
- Check card data
- Public restrooms
- Freeway service areas
- E-filling stations
- Routes
- Signposts
- Parking spaces
- Taking pictures of certain places
- Tourist attractions
- Museum, theatres, cinemas
- Shopping facilities
- Sports complex
- Retail shops
- Events
- Latest price comparison of the day
- Gas stations, price of petrol
- Price at retail shops
- Car dealers, used cars
- Clothing, fashion, trend
- Watches, jewelry, luxury goods
- Consumer price in shops
- Validation of addresses/company information
- Restaurants and shops
- Lawyers, doctors, notaries
- Enrich with additional information
- Phone number, address, opening hours
- New openings of companies
- Insolvency, bankruptcy
- For simply distribution investigation
- On-site service checks
- Road network and tracks
- Carsharing, bikesharing, car rental
- Cleaning checks, functioning checks
- Gambling machines, vending machines
- Service checks
- Mystery shopping
- Marketing and promotion campaigns
- Generate contact to products in a simple way
- Product testing and valuation
- Promotion checks
- Create flashmobs and buzz
- App tests and reviews
- Check promotion campaigns on site
- Capturing opening hours
- Capturing throughout the country
- Structured information
- Economical and fast
- Additional information on range of goods and price
- Real added value for your data
- Photo evidence
- Market research and mobile panels
- Thousands of panel users in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
- Can be selected regionally and in detail
- Filter for socio-demografic features
- Product survey or market view
- Survey with free-text or multiple choice
- Fast results
- Economical alternative
AppJobber is primarily layed out as a mobile plattform to be used on people’s smartphone because micro jobs are only chosen and carried out with this tool. Additionally, there is the website which gives employers the opportunity to present the micro jobs and carry out the administration of the budget and calculation of the bill. As employee one can only call up their own profile and job history.
The AppJobber process
- Purchaser creates the micro job (manually or mass import). In this course the budget for the micro job is allocated. After this, the micro job is accessible via the mobile app.
- The contractors are informed about new micro jobs via push notification (micro job in the surroundings) or via newsletter. The contractor chooses the micro job in the App and carries out the tasks as instructed. As proof for the completion of the chosen micro job there are different GPS tracking data as well as pictures of the local surroundings. The collected data are then checked by the operator of the platform for whether or not they are usable. Lastly the contractor gets a reward for the micro job.
- After two to four weeks the contractor gets the payment from the platform via transfer.
- The collective data that the contractors have created are made accessible to the purchaser. A collective bill is then created monthly, only the completed micro jobs are accounted.
AppJobber screenshots
AppJobber data usage range and spreading
On the basis of Twitter followers (~2k, see https://twitter.com/appjobber) and Facebook fans (~ 1.8k, see https://www.facebook.com/AppJobber) the number of (active) AppJobber users should not be much more than 10k. The platform as well as the app is available in the above listed countries. Translations in national languages are also available.
User journey: AppJobber in Graz, Austria
- The job selection works on the basis of two criteria:
- Geographical proximity
- Amount/value of reward
- Detailed instructions on what to do exactly and in which order are given for each micro job (e.g. take pictures, note details, etc.). In the description of the micro job the necessary data are collected via questions and answers. It is important that the micro jobs can only be started as soon as the smartphone is in the proximity of the task.
- As soon as the micro job is completed the data are checked. With a positive release the contractor can apply for the payment.
AppJobber strenghts and weaknesses
AppJobber Strengths
- Micro jobs are refunded with at least one Euro.
- Push notifications with active geo-fencing are practical for not missing micro jobs in the surroundings.
- The goal for each micro job is described clearly.
AppJobber Weaknesses
- Marketing measures are not on a regular basis (email newsletter has not been sent for years).
- No long-term motivation as contractor, too few micro jobs are available in a reasonable vicinity as soon as all are completed.
- Purchasers do not seem to be approached enough. The number of the better paid micro jobs in Austria is declining at the moment.
Personal evaluation of AppJobber
The basic idea of the concept is simple and understandable for purchasers and contractors. The idea came up from a spin-off from the TU Darmstadt (technical university) in the year 2010 and was developed further into a company.
The features where enhanced over the years. A job email alert (regional jobs) and push notifications with geo-fencing where added.
The company seems to grow at the moment as of May 2015 a position for a mobile app developer was advertised on the founder platform of the TU Darmstadt.
Have you already tried AppJobber? Let us know about your experience in the comments.